State jobless rate holds at 4.8 percent
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The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry released its employment report for March on Friday, and it had an air of familiarity.
Unemployment statewide was 4.8 percent for a 10th consecutive month. That figure is two-tenths of a percentage point below that of March 2017.
Last month’s state rate was well above the national jobless figure of 4.1 percent.
Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – dropped 18,000 from February to 6,393,000. That was attributed to declines in employment and unemployment. Over 12 months, residential employment dropped by 26,000 and unemployment by 20,000.
The estimated number of Pennsylvania jobs rose from February to 6,004,600, the 12th straight month of record highs. Jobs increased in seven of 11 industry super-sectors, with education and health services leading the way for the second month in a row.
These nonfarm jobs increased by 1.4 percent from March 2017. Nine super-sectors added positions over that time.